Tell Me the Story (Part Two)

This year, the Passover and Easter coincide. In Matthew chapter 26, Jesus and his disciples prepare for the Passover (Matthew 26: 17-19). Christians refer to this meal as the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him (Matthew 26:21). This declaration stirs an uproar of questions among the disciples, “Is it I, Lord? Is it I?” Even Judas asks the question.

Overlooking Jerusalem (2012)

During this meal, Jesus lays the foundation for the communion service, a time when Christians participate in they symbolic representation of what happened on that night. Jesus took the bread, broke it and distributed it among the disciples. The bread represents His body. Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, representing His own blood which was shed for the remission of sins. They ate and sang before going to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed.

In the Garden

Alone in the garden, except for the slumbering disciples, and away from the crowd, Jesus prayed.

“If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39)

In Jesus’ darkest hour, the disciples slept.

Could you not watch with me one hour?

It had been foretold that the Savior would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

After willingly surrendering his will to the Father and knowing that he had been “betrayed into the hands of sinners”, the heart of the earth—His suffering for our redemption—opened up and Jesus was cast into the grip of the Enemy, an enemy of death He would defeat three days later.

The Returning Crowd

The prayerful stillness and agony of the garden transformed into the scene of Jesus’ arrest when Judas arrived with the crowd—a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. This time, the crowd is not shouting “Hosanna!” They are not worshipping Jesus. They are not laying palm leaves before him. This is the scene of betrayal, of scripture being fulfilled, and of desertion as the disciples fled. This is also a scene of authority. Only Jesus, Son of God, has the power to save us from our sins.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)